Tidbits

– Actress Mia Wasikowska (The Kids Are Alright, Alice In Wonderland, Jane Eyre), studied ballet in her youth and made a Natalie/Black Swan comparison in this Black Book interview.

She says that Natalie Portman’s unraveled and paranoid performance in Black Swan as a ballerina who lives and breathes her craft is actually quite convincing. “Dancers are kept in a perpetual state of pre-puberty, and for young girls in particular, that type of pressure breeds insecurities. You can become so obsessed with the smallest details—it was a good thing for me to get out of.”

– There was a competition for universities to get a screening of Your Highness and the winning schools have been announced, with UC Santa Barabara the venue for the world premiere on April 1st.

As if to emphasise the fact, a bona fide superstar cuts through the lobby. I’m first aware of it when Adele widens her eyes and starts urgently whispering something that sounds like “porter, porter”. It’s Natalie Portman, a week before the Oscars and very pregnant, sweeping through the room and out into the blistering wind.

The lobby bristles in her wake. Adele looks quite star-struck. “Do you ever get that, the heart flutter? I turn into a wreck. Go all light-headed.” She crosses her eyes and mimes wooziness, but quickly she is back. Portman, she reckons, owes her some nights’ sleep: Adele saw Black Swan a few weeks ago and is still going to bed with the lights on.